Making a quilt…..one stitch at a time.

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Monthly Archives: May 2016

These things are bound to happen. I was just getting ready to cut some blocks for “Bed of Roses” to ship out. While I was getting ready to cut the white backgrounds for the blocks, I happened to notice it looked a little whiter than I remembered. You guessed it, the bolt I have been cutting from for the last 2 months worth of blocks is the wrong white. My sincerest apologies. Please, please check through any blocks you received in the last 2 months (check both blocks and borders) and take out the white background. Compare it to the previous blocks and you will be able to see the difference. Very close, but very different. I will replace all of the “wrong” background and replace it with the “right” background. Free of charge (of course) and free shipping. Please email me and let me know what you need.

Last post I showed the step-by-step photos of The Glorious Eagle Block I taught at the Wiltwyck Quilt Guild in Kingston, NY.

This post I would like to show The Braided Basket block. It is a little more challenging, only because there are a few more pieces and it has a fair bit of layering. If you are planning on making this block, the first question you will probably ask is “Where do I start?” Well, you can start with the basket.

I made all of the bias strips for this basket with my 1/4″ bias maker.

I used three bias pieces to make the braid for the edge of the basket.

Once you have built this much of the basket, you can start to fill it with flowers and leaves. To make life easier, I store all the prepped flowers and leaves in zip lock bags.

So I started with some leaves.

Next I added the flowers.

I added more flowers and a small part of the braided section.

This block is put together much like a jig-saw puzzle. Every piece has to fit in it’s own spot!

Once all of the flowers and leaves were glued in place, that left room for the bird, which is glued in place on a piece of freezer paper (shiny side up). The bird is then lifted off the freezer paper and glued onto the background.

This block is not finished yet. I still need to stitch the blue bow on the handle and trim the long piece of braid. Lovely!

This past weekend I had the privilege of spending time with the Wiltwyck Quilters Guild in Kingston, New York. I want to thank everyone in the guild for making us feel so welcome, especially Susan, who contacted me over a year ago and invited me to do a Trunk Show and to teach a couple of workshops for their guild. Colleen (from Elite Quilting) came with me to share in the 7 hour drive. Lucky me, Colleen did all of the driving. There and back!

Here I am talking about my quilts (one of my favourite things to do!). They loved my accent. I loved theirs. It was all good!

After the guild meeting, I taught some very enthusiastic ladies The Glorious Eagle block from Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. I told them I would post some step by step photos, so here they are…

First we started with the flag. You can see that the red stripes are prepped and then glued on to the full size white piece. Notice the bottom of the blue section is tucked underneath the stripe.

Once all the stripes are stitched in place, the outer white section can be trimmed away from the top and bottom. By the way, this technique is called “off-block construction”. Because it is constructed off the block!

So you can see I trimmed the outer section of the white away and now this entire piece can be glued on the background.

Next the leaves are added.

Then the flagpole, the stem and berries (in that order).

Next we added the feet (tricky, yes , but you can do it!) and the legs.

Now you can add the wings and the body. Once you get this far you will want to give yourself a pat on the back!!

You can prep this stem/leaf section in one piece if you are brave. Or you can cut it up into a stem and leaves like I showed you. Your choice!

You can add the ribbon, and the leaves and stem.

Then add the pretty pink and purple flowers.

At this point you can add the eagle’s head and skinny stems.

And now you are able to add the second part of the ribbon.

Notice that the ribbon goes under one section of the beak and over the other section of the beak. Tricky!

So now you can just add the rest of the leaves and stems and rosebud.

Sweet! And simple, no?

I used a pale yellow for the star and oval section of the flagpole, even though I thought it might be a bit drab. I was right. Drab. So I unstitched it and used a bolder yellow. Never be afraid to switch out a part of the block if it doesn’t turn your crank!

That’s more like it!

And here is the (almost!) finished block. I just need to do a bit of embroidery and give the eagle an eye. We were lucky enough to have access to a sink during the workshop, so I showed the class how I wash a block. In my next post, I will show pictures from The Braided Flower Basket class.

We made it! Can you believe a whole year has come and gone since we started Sue Garman’s “Bed of Roses”?

In this month’s package, you will receive the fabric for the last border and the remaining fabric for the scallops. I must confess, I am behind on my borders so I better get stitching! You will also receive enough fabric for the sashing cornerstones, floater and sashing strips, outer border cornerstones and the binding. Have you thought about which fabric you will use for the backing? You have a choice of 4 backings and they are available on my website.

I am so eager to start stitching the blocks together, but first I need to wash (yes, wash!) and trim the blocks to the correct size.

If you have been following my blog you know I like to wash my blocks when I am finished the applique. I do this so I can remove the blue water soluble marker that I use to trace the pattern onto the background fabric. And I need to remove the glue. I just fill the sink with hot, soapy water and toss the block in. Really, it’s that simple! For more details, watch the Youtube video here.

I usually let it soak for about an hour so. Next, I rinse the block under running water and then lay it out on a towel. Don’t wring the block out! If you leave the block fairly wet, it will dry without too many wrinkles.

Once the block is completely dry, I iron if from the wrong side.

Now it’s time to trim the blocks to the proper size (15 1/2″). Instead of measuring each block (way too fiddly) I cut a 15 1/2″ square in a piece of corrugated plastic and used it as a “window template”. I used this same method to measure the blocks for my Friends of Baltimore quilt. You can see that post here. Since the blocks in both quilts are the same size, I was able to use this template for both sets of blocks.

Once my blocks are all trimmed I will start sewing them together, and of course I will share my progress with you.

Very often I am asked how I choose my fabrics. I love tone-on-tone in clear colours that have a little something going on, but not too much going on (if that makes sense!). I have put together a collection of 13 delicious tone-on-tones that I cannot live without! I have these fabrics available on my website in Fat Eighths Bundles (an ideal amount for hand-applique) and, also Fat Quarter Bundles.

Later this month I am heading off to The Wiltwyck Quilt Guild in Kingston, New York to teach 2 workshops and to do a Trunk Show. I couldn’t be more excited!! Here is a sneak peek of one of the blocks we will be doing. I can’t wait!!

Bruin always likes to give me his input when it comes to which colour of thread I should use:) Speaking of thread, I will be adding my favourite hand-applique thread, Mettler 60, to my website in the very near future. I will keep you posted!

Check out my new website!

I am a quilter who is passionate about Hand-Applique. If I inspire just one person, my job will be done!! I am thrilled to share my quilts with a (hopefully!) appreciative audience.....my family just rolls their eyes!
I live in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.